Today's recruiting roundup discusses the Dawson decommitment and potential replacements, the updated 2013 Top247, the return of Shane Morris, a potential early 2014 commit, and more.

Point Of No Return

Ethan Pocic: Potential Dawson replacement?

Despite an summer flirtation with Florida, David Dawson seemingly decommitted out of the blue yesterday. He was quick to name a new leader in the Gators, however, and InsideTheGators.com suggests that this may have actually been a long time coming ($) [emphasis mine]:

Word of the two-sides parting ways first started gaining momentum back in the summer, when during The Opening Dawson openly spoke of decommitting from Michigan, telling several of his fellow Wolverines commitments of his plan.

However, after speaking with the UM coaching staff, Dawson decided to stand pat.

Then a month ago, a person close to the situation told Inside the Gators that Dawson was on the verge of making a change, and it would happen in a matter of days, before then saying that it would happen during the week leading up to the Florida-LSU game.

“They are done,” said Wilcher regarding whether the Wolverines will continue courting his star lineman. “That ship has sailed… sunk.. whatever you want to call it.”

Regardless of how things went down, I'd encourage everyone to wish Dawson well and move on. Sour grapes are not a good look when we're talking about the decisions of high school kids.

Michigan is certainly moving on, as The M Block reports that the Wolverines have already reached out to LSU commit Ethan Pocic, who was very high on Michigan before the available spots on the line filled up. Pocic maintains that he's firmly committed to the Tigers and will take his only official visit there; that's to be expected at this juncture, of course, so we'll see how things develop. While Dawson was slated to play guard and Pocic is a pure tackle prospect, Michigan could easily shift Chris Fox down to guard and maintain a full five-man line class with every position covered—Logan Tuley-Tillman and Pocic at tackle, Fox and Kyle Bosch at guard, and Patrick Kugler at center.

Tremendous throws in their two cents about potential replacements for Dawson, including Pocic, Notre Dame commit Colin McGovern, MSU commit Dennis Finley (yet to be offered, but one could come), and UCLA commit Scott Quessenberry, a high school teammate of freshman Erik Magnuson. They also dispel the notion that Dawson's departure could affect the recruitment of VA RB Derrick Green; the pair had struck up a friendship over the summer, but Green told Tremendous that the decommitment will "not at all" affect his status with the Wolverines.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of today's recruiting nuggets.]

Hooray! Big Leap For... Oh

247 released their updated Top247 for the class of 2013. Magnus has his usual rundown of the movement of Michigan commits—the only major movement was a big drop for Chris Fox and a nice rise for, oh, damn:

In other rankings news, everyone's favorite recruiting guru, Mike Farrell, suggests that Channing Stribling is in line for a bump when Rivals updates their list:

Mike Farrell, National/Mid-Atlantic: Matthews (N.C.) Butler defensive back Channing Stribling was a bit of a reach when Michigan took him, but he has played very well this season and his stock is rising. He was outstanding at Michigan's summer camp, which is why he earned his offer, and he has carried that play over to this season.

A quibble: Just because your site lists a player as a two-star doesn't mean the coaches are making a "reach" in offering him, especially if they just got done evaluating him at their own camp. Get over yourself, plz.

I have to double-check this number, but I believe 17 of Michigan's 22 commits are now slated to play in an All-American game after Kyle Bosch (LINK) and Wyatt Shallman recently chose to attend the Semper Fi Bowl.

In last weekend's high school action, Shane Morris made a surprising early return from mono after being cleared by doctors, completing 17-of-22 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns, according to GBW's Kyle Bogenshutz ($). Morris put up those numbers despite not feeling 100% back after being bed-ridden and even hospitalized since being diagnosed a few weeks ago:

“Obviously I’m not in as good of shape as I was before, but I’m getting there,” said Morris. “I’m not running the ball as much. I’m getting there, and I felt good out there today. I felt really well—and it was just good to be back in the swing of things.”

Morris reportedly lost 10 pounds while he was sick, but has already gained back five. Quick healer, that kid.

One of Michigan's commits made it to the PSL title game, but probably not the one you expected: Khalid Hill had an eight-yard touchdown catch to help propel East English Village Prep over Detroit Cody in the semifinals. In the other semi, Detroit King upset Cass Tech, 44-13; Jourdan Lewis had a 95-yard touchdown catch called back due to offsetting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which is a pretty tough break if you ask me. Lewis was also named the PSL Proud Strong Learner of the Week after his performance against Mumford last week.

Also, you can check out Jake Butt's highlights from the first eight games at his Hudl page.

Etc.

Michigan hosted several visitors for the Illinois game; Tremendous has been getting reactions from a ton of 2014 visitors, and you can find them all here.

The Wolverines offered behemoth 2014 Chicago OT Denzel Ward (6'9", 285 lbs.) before the game; he offered his reaction to EdgyTim, and it appears he's considering a commitment ($):

["]Getting an offer from Michigan is still amazing to me. They have been one of my dream schools for a long time and it's just really exciting right now."

So could the Wolverines pull an early commitment from Ward?

"I just got back from Michigan today so I'm still not sure. I'm going to talk to my family and my coaches and sit down and really take a little time to let it all sink in. I'm really not in a rush for now but getting an offer from Michigan is a really big deal to me."

Even if Ward doesn't pull the trigger, it looks like Michigan is in a very good position to land him down the road.

The coaches may have also identified their 2014 quarterback, as well, as they let OK QB David Cornwell know that he's one of the five recruits at the position they're looking at the most right now. Cornwell made the long trip up to Ann Arbor and even extended his stay through Sunday, so all indications are that there's serious mutual interest.

Sam Webb profiles 2014 GA OT Orlando Brown Jr.over at the DetNews; Brown says he's got a "pretty high" interest in Michigan, as well as all the other schools he's considering.

Tremendous's Mark pointed out on Twitter yesterday that Vanderbilt just picked up their seventh defensive back commit in the 2013 class. That may make it difficult for them to find room for Leon McQuay III; with USC currently full on scholarships, Michigan and Florida State may be the only teams among McQuay's leaders that have room to take him.

Who says the void left by Dawson has to be filled with another OL. Green, Treadwell, and McQuad would be fine in my book. I realize that's quite a long shot, but why not fill it with the best possible players left on the board regardless of position?

Although I agree that a 5th lineman is the preference if we can find a good one, I agree with the above poster that it doesn't need to be. Taking 4 good ones in 2012, 4 good ones in 2013 would be OK. That would make a full 2-deep in 2014 without true frosh or walk-ons, even though guys like Brzynski and Glasgow will still be around, as will Dan Gibbs.

I agree that 5 is best, and if a guy like Pocic or another highly rated guys wants in, it's a no-brainer, but if we have a choice between a 5th OL who is "meh" and a guy like McQuay, I'd probably go with McQuay.

EDIT: I'd also like to point out that M is high on a number of very good 2014 OL prospects, and how things are looking with them over the next few months might play a role in this decision. Replacing Dawson with "best player available" and then taking an additional 2014 OL isn't the worst idea either.

Heard any talk down there about renewed interest in USC’s Khaliel Rodgers from MD? I have heard (in Bay area) he wants to take some visits elsewhere. As I remember he was very interested until OL filled up.

I waver back and forth on this point. The coaches clearly saw a need for 5 OL in this class. With last year's haul, we could certainly get by with 4 OL this year...but the game is won in the trenches. On the other hand, an elite skill player could be a difference maker on the field (possibly sooner rather than later). Either way, it's a great spot to be in.

I think the number of recruits a coach "wants" at any position has a lot to do with how many elite players are interested in coming. We were in a situation where 5 really good OL wanted in, so we took them. We turned away #6 though, which means the coaches wanted no more than 5. That suggests to me that they may have been happy with 4 very good OL, which we have right now.

I have a feeling the recruiting strategy resembles something like "we need x number at each position, and that total adds up to about 5-6 spots fewer than we have to give out, so the rest go to star players wherever we can find them." One of those start players ended up being Kugler, so we took a 5th OL. Now, that star player might be Treadwell or Green or McQuay or some other player that pops up on our radar between now and signing day. It might be another OL, but it might not.

I'm certain you're right that we only "need" 17-18 players and the rest are just what is available. That being said, it will be interesting to see which best player available scenario the coaches go for. Is it truly best player available? Or do they still favor one position group over the other and go from there? Time will tell.

Yeah, it will be interesting. There are probably some position groups that we can rule out, like TE, maybe LB, since we have the guys we want there. If Treadwell commits, we won't take another WR. I wouldn't mind taking a safety, or a SDE/3-tech type guy.

But I think they end up going after an OL, unless we get Treadwell, Green and McQuay (or a comparably rated guy not on our radar right now). My point, Dawson's scholarship will either be for "elite guy" or OL.

it was pretty clear the staff planned on taking five OL in this class. Given the depth issues on the line and the fact that they missed out on Garnett and Kozan at the end of the 2012 class, that seemed conservative. I'll be very surprised if we don't take another, even if he's not quite the level of Pocic. If we don't, I'll take that as a sign that the staff has more confidence in the 2012 class after seeing them in practice, so I won't mind being wrong..

A 6'5", 215 lb'er who throws frozen ropes.Not only does that sound good from a measurable standpoints, but there's an added bonus. Whether this kid grades out as a 5 star or a meh 3 star, he LOOKS like everyone's favorite 5-star, Shane Morris. Same stature. Same throwing style. Same view of the field. If Morris needs to come out for any reason, this kid stepping in will be the best thing in the world for the rest of the team. O-Linemen won't have to worry about keeping lanes clear for a shorter QB, nor will recievers suddenly have to adjust for balls with less zip coming in at angles they haven't prepared for. Even if he has lower upside, he should be very plug & play if and when needed. I'd love to land him.

"This is the EMU game, not the emo game."

Cannon for an arm, dead on accuracy, takes the hit to make the throw. At the 3:00 minute mark he makes a play showing he has full view of what is happening on the field and not stuck on his primary receiver. Could be a good one to watch.

the disappointing news re Dawson's decommitment. Whatever the outcome concerning OL recruiting for 2013, having Morris healthy for Spring '13 practice is the most critical factor for Michigan's offense in the future.

I agree with your commentary on Farrell's assessment of Channing Stribling. He's trying to save face from having straight up underrated the kid. "The Reach" would be a great sarcastic nickname for Stribling, especially if he pulls off a few acrobatic interceptions and makes a true double entendre out of it.

The "reach" comment by Farrell is so stupid it's funny. Is he saying that Stribling wasn't good when he was offered, but he is now? Because that's a pretty crazy statement to make.

I could understand if it was a size thing, where the kid recently went through a growrth spurt. "At 240, he was reach for Michigan to offer at OT, but not that he's up to 275, it looks like a good pick up." Something like that. But nothing has happened since we offered him other than Rivals finding out that he'd good. Mike, do you think it's possible that some of these programs figure out a player is good before you do? What a fucking idiot.

In all seriousness, we need to go all out for Treadwell, and McQuay. Green is not as good as he's ranked. As god is my witness. I go to the neighboring school in Richmond that he attends. I've seen him play against my schools football team and their sub par defense. He has good blocking. Great speed but no vision. We need to offer starting roles to both McQuay and Treadwell. Do anything to get them on campus. We need to compete next year. No excuses. Can you say Lebron repeat? Who's up for buying brand new 2013 Benz's for Leon and Laqoun? LOL